From Telephone Poles to Websites - How Dealerships Have Changed Strategies
A few short decades ago, automotive dealerships tacked advertisements to telephone poles. Except in smaller, rural communities, telephone poles have gone the way of this form of advertising - disappeared - simply because we now have better ways of doing things.
When we place calls today, signals fly through the air instead of zipping down a wire, and so should advertising messages. There is still the option of television advertising or print promotion, and maybe you still use those mediums.
There’s also a very convenient, inexpensive way to get your product and your brand out there. It’s called Online Brand Marketing.
Online Brand Marketing is the communication equivalent of telephone pole ads on leaflets. Get that name and product out there, everywhere - in your email signature file, in comments on blog postings, etc. Communication doesn’t end at your website. Keep it going in every online transaction, correspondence and message posted. It’s easy, and it doesn’t cost much.
Beware of too much self-promotion, though. When talking about your vehicles or your dealership in a message forum or blog, be careful to serve the topic at hand and avoid posting just for the sake of getting on the board.
Talk about the related post or subject at hand and work your brand into your comments lest you be branded yourself: as a spammer. No one wants that label, so find a way to correlate the subject with your brand.
Be sure to use a healthy brand signature at the bottom of all online correspondence too, whether it be in an email, forum or blog comment. Your name, telephone number and email address aren’t sufficient if you’d like to let everyone know about the great deals you offer.
Add your branding message into your signature or your comments. Readers will see it, even if it’s a quick discussion about next week’s game. That’s called online brand marketing, and it’s the telephone pole of today.
